Ground water

Groundwater is the water found underground in the

cracks and spaces in soil, sand and rock. It is stored in
and moves slowly through geologic formations of soil,
sand and rocks called aquifers.

Aquifers
An aquifer is a body of porous rock or sediment saturated with
groundwater. Groundwater enters an aquifer as precipitation seeps
through the soil. It can move through the aquifer and resurface
through springs and wells.

Aquifers are typically made up of gravel, sand, sandstone, or fractured

rock, like limestone. Water can move through these materials because they
have large connected spaces that make them permeable. The speed at which
groundwater flows depends on the size of the spaces in the soil or rock and
how well the spaces are connected.

. 1. Unconfined Aquifer:
An aquifer which is not overlain by any confining layer but has a
confining layer at its bottom is called unconfined aquifer. It is
normally exposed to the atmosphere and its upper portion is partly
saturated with water. The upper surface of saturation is called water
table which is under atmospheric pressure therefore this aquifer is
also called phreatic aquifer.

2. Perched Aquifer:
It is a special case of an unconfined aquifer. This type of aquifer occurs
when an impervious or relatively impervious layer of limited area in
the form of a lens is located in the water bearing unconfined aquifer.

3. Confined Aquifer:
It is also called artesian aquifer. It is a type of aquifer overlain as well
as underlain by confining layers. The water within the aquifer is
therefore held under pressure. It is sometimes called pressure aquifer
also. If the aquifer has high outcrop laterally than the ground surface
there will be positive hydrostatic pressure to create conditions for a
flowing well. Water from such well comes to the surface without
pumping. The imaginary level up to which the water will rise is called
piezometric surface.

4. Leaky Aquifer:
In nature, truly confined aquifers are rare because the confining layers
are not hundred per cent impervious. An aquifer which is overlain or
underlain by a semi- pervious layer (aquitard) through which vertical
leakage takes place due to head difference is called leaky aquifer or
semi-confined aquifer.

The permeability of the semi-confining layer is usually very small as

compared to the permeability of the main aquifer. Thus the water
which seeps vertically through the semi-confining layer is diverted
internally to proceed horizontally in the main aquifer.
 Ground water contamination
Groundwater contamination occurs when man-made products such as
gasoline, oil, road salts and chemicals get into the groundwater and cause it
to become unsafe and unfit for human use.

Materials from the land’s surface can move through the soil and end up in the
groundwater. For example, pesticides and fertilizers can find their way into
groundwater supplies over time. Road salt, toxic substances from mining
sites, and used motor oil also may seep into groundwater. In addition, it is
possible for untreated waste from septic tanks and toxic chemicals from
underground storage tanks and leaky landfills to contaminate groundwater.

Dangers of Contaminated Groundwater

Drinking contaminated groundwater can have serious health effects. Diseases
such as hepatitis and dysentery may be caused by contamination from septic
tank waste. Poisoning may be caused by toxins that have leached into well
water supplies. Wildlife can also be harmed by contaminated groundwater.
Other long term effects such as certain types of cancer may also result from
exposure to polluted water.

Evaporation
evaporation, process by which an element or compound transitions from its liquid state
to its gaseous state below the temperature at which it boils; in particular, the process by
which liquid water enters the atmosphere as water vapors in the water cycle.
Study the evaporation process of water from Earth's surface into the sky where water vapour
forms clouds
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Evaporation, mostly from the oceans and from vegetation, replenishes the humidity of
the air. It is an important part of the exchange of energy in the Earth-atmosphere
system that produces atmospheric motion and therefore weather and climate. This
transfer of water between Earth’s surface and the atmosphere occurs when
some molecules in water mass have attained sufficient kinetic energy to eject
themselves from the water surface. The main factors affecting evaporation
are temperature.

Transpiration

Transpiration is the evaporation of water from plants. Most of the water

absorbed by the roots of a plant—as much as 99.5 percent—is not used for
growth or metabolism; it is excess water, and it leaves the plant through
transpiration. Transpiration is very important for maintaining moisture conditions
in the environment. As much as 10 percent of the moisture in the Earth’s
atmosphere is from transpiration of water by plants.

By; Syed Hassan shah bukhari (Comsats university Abbottabad)